The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal.

Brazil were the two-time defending champions, but they were knocked out of the tournament by Honduras after suffering a 0–2 defeat in the quarter-final.

There is no qualifying for the final tournament. CONMEBOL's ten South American countries participate, along with two more invited countries, making a total of twelve teams competing in the tournament. Originally, Mexico and CONCACAF Champions Canada were invited.

Prior to the tournament, three meetings were held by CONMEBOL authorities who were concerned about potential security issues in Colombia. On 1 July they announced the cancellation of the tournament. Venezuela offered to host the competition, but on 6 July CONMEBOL decided to reinstate the plans for Colombia, and the tournament was held on schedule.

When the tournament was originally cancelled, Canada disbanded its training camp and Canadian players returned to their club teams. The Canadian Soccer Association announced they would not be able to participate in the reinstated tournament. With only a few days' notice, Costa Rica (CONCACAF) accepted an invite to take Canada's spot in the tournament. The Costa Ricans advanced to the knockout stage, losing in the quarterfinals.

Complaining about the sudden reversal, and claiming that Argentine players had received death threats from terrorist groups, the Argentine Football Association decided to withdraw from the competition on 10 July, in spite of Colombian authorities proposing to implement additional protection measures. With the tournament starting the next day, Honduras (CONCACAF) were invited, arriving with barely enough players on 13 July in an airplane provided by the Colombian Air Force, after the tournament had started and just a few hours before its first game. The Hondurans performed well through the tournament, finishing in third place.

Despite the pre-tournament concerns, there were no incidents of violence nor acts of assault towards any of the participating nations.